Storage containers for liquids are well-known. For example, kegs are often used to store beer. Other types of tanks are used to store soda. There usually is a need to chill the storage container to keep its contents cool. For example, when kegs are used to dispense beer, it is desirable to chill the keg so that the beer is cold when served. In addition, keg beer typically needs to be chilled because the beer will become spoiled otherwise.
In the prior art, people tried various methods for cooling beer kegs and other containers for liquids. One common practice was to place the beer keg in another container, such as a large bucket, and fill the area around the beer keg within the container with ice. The container usually will become too heavy for one person to carry, since the beer keg and ice have substantial mass. In addition, once the ice begins to melt, there is no way to drain the water except to tip the entire container over to drain the water from the top opening. This is cumbersome and sometimes dangerous.
Another common practice is to place the beer keg in a refrigerator and remove it as needed to dispense beer, which is often inconvenient. In addition, once the keg is out of the refrigerator, there is no system to chill it, and the beer's temperature will slowly increase until it matches the ambient temperature of the air surrounding the keg.
What is needed is a device for cooling beer kegs and other storage containers for liquid, where the device itself is mobile and can easily be transported by an ordinary person and where the device is thermally insulated and can accommodate ice around the storage container to increase the amount of time in which the storage container will be chilled. What is further needed is a way to drain water from the device as the ice melts without tilting the container.